Floriography
by Crimson Flight
Summary: In the deserts of Vacuo, Shade Academy remains the lone bulwark against the turmoil that has gripped the once-prosperous kingdom. Within its stone halls, Aeronwy Larkspur trains alongside her comrades in the pursuit of her ultimate goal: to triumph over her rival and prove herself to be a great Huntress. She just needs to learn how work with her teammates first. [OC Team/Pre-canon]
1. First Steps: Examining the Competition

From where she was sitting, the sight of Shade Academy rising far above the skyline was an incredibly intimidating sight. The ziggurat was an immense behemoth, its size dwarfing the homes and buildings of the small town that rested in its base. It claimed to be a guardian, a protector of those who had flocked to its domain following the devastation of the Great War, but in her eyes, there was another, more threatening, message.

That it could easily crush them all like ants.

Aeronwy Larkspur gripped tightly onto her bindle with a sweaty hand.

She didn't want to be one of those ants.

In hindsight, it was almost funny how pumped she had been the day before; how confident in her ability to sweep the competition and pass the entrance exams with total ease. Except now that she was here, in front of the Academy she desired so strongly to enter, that bravado was gone. There was less than an hour left until the testing was to begin, and she was utterly terrified.

 _Stay calm, Larkspur. It'll be okay. You got this. No way you gonna fail. You got this._

The crimson-haired girl's cheeks puffed up as she breathed in. She couldn't let all those years of training to end in disappointment. The air was released slowly from her nose. She had worked too hard to fail. Getting into Shade was the only way she could become a Huntress, and she would never be able to forgive herself if she missed this chance. Not when she had so brazenly told everybody back home that she would _definitely_ become the Academy's ace.

There was no way she could show her failure to her family.

 _Bro'd never let me live it down._

She couldn't help but crack a smile at the thought of them. They were so excited when she told them of the entrance exams. _"Of course you'll become a Huntress at Shade!"_ they had told her. _"Where else you gonna go?"_ And she'd gotten caught up in the enthusiasm, making promises that once seemed rock-solid, but now felt as loose as the sands of the Vacuuan Desert. The possibility that she didn't pass felt so real now.

'Where was she gonna go' indeed; it wasn't like Vacuo had anything else.

No big combat schools. No real teachers. Just survival training and the hope that Shade represented to everybody living in the wasteland.

 _Aargh, you're worrying again, Larkspur! It'll be okay! Stop panicking and focus on finding the venue!_

Aeronwy nodded vigorously with slightly renewed resolve, immediately sliding herself off the top of the crumbling stone wall with a quiet huff. She landed in a crouch on the pavement below, before straightening back up to her full height and brushing a few specks of dirt off her white t-shirt. She just had to focus on getting to the venue first. There was no point in worrying about failing if she had failed to even turn up, right?

She propped her heavy bindle down on the crook of her neck, cradling it against her shoulder as she reached down into her trouser pockets for her Scroll, also making sure to make sure her test admission ticket was still safely secured with a quick pat. The seventeen (soon to be eighteen!) year old girl knew that the exams were probably being held somewhere on Shade's campus, but she needed to double check where those rooms were. And make sure she was going in the right direction too.

Sure, you couldn't miss Shade even if you tried to, but she had run into a few roadblocks and walls already, and not many people were too fond of a girl jumping into their backyards.

"Okay …" she murmured to herself as she loaded up a navigation app alongside the message that had all the examination details (she was Examinee #105), "just gotta make my around to one of the bigger roads, huh?"

That was easy enough. Aeronwy took a hard look at the information being displayed to her before slipping the device away. She still had about thirty minutes until the exam started, so as long as she didn't get lost, she'd probably get there in absolutely no time at all!

A gust of wind blew past her, but the girl ignored it. Slapping her right fist against her left palm, she breathed in once more. She just needed to keep reassuring herself that she was fine. That the tests wouldn't pose too big of a problem to her.

 _No way I'm gonna fail._

Aeronwy Larkspur began to walk in the direction that her app gave her.

She would be fine.

There was no need to worry.

Aeronwy Larkspur was worried.

To be more precise, she was absolutely terrified.

The teenaged wannabe-Huntress rapidly paced back and forth in front of the entrance to Shade Academy, ignoring the glances shot her way by passerbys, faculty members on standby, and the few other prospective students who were able to take time from fussing over their own fears to focus on the maladies of others. Her long red hair was becoming more and more frazzled as she ran pale hands through their strands, her intensifying stress becoming quite obvious to spot.

She had lost her admission ticket.

 _Breathe in, Larkspur. Don't panic. We're so close. Don't panic._

Despite having checked that it was still on her person less than half an hour ago, it was already lost. Gone. Disappeared from her pockets like a sock from the drawer. Or an isolated village in a Grimm-infested desert. Somewhere along the way, she had lost it, and now she was doomed.

Failing the entrance exams? She couldn't even participate in them now!

And to think she had been so happy when she first arrived at the venue alongside all the other colourful-looking examinees. She had just gotten enough of her confidence back during the walk, but now that was completely useless if she couldn't find her ticket! No ticket meant no test, and no test meant not becoming a Huntress. She was doomed. Absolutely doomed.

 _Come on Larkspur, don't panic you can find this don't panic._

It was really easy to tell herself not to panic, but that didn't help a single bit if she didn't even know where to start fixing things! Her heart pounded at her ribs, its loud thudding a distraction that was only adding to her woes. Where could she start? Where did she drop it? During the walk to the venue? She looked around wildly, her face the image of excited terror. She breathed. If she had dropped it here, there was no way she could find it. Not when there were so many people walking around.

"Come on come on come on," were her frantic mutterings. "It's gotta be somewhere, gotta be."

She started retracing her steps, her eyes flitting from spot to spot as she stared at every clear spot on the dusty ground. She didn't care if people were wondering why she was going _away_ from the venue. No time for that. She had to find her ticket. It was just a small, white piece of laminated paper, but it was too important. It was her future.

Nothing around the campus grounds.

Had she dropped it on the road?!

Aeronwy grabbed out her Scroll, nearly dropping it in her panic. Ten minutes until the tests were to begin. Could she find her ticket in time? Did she have time to even go find it? She squashed those thoughts, shoving the device into her pockets and breaking into a run. No time to worry. She had to find it. Had to. She started running.

Nothing right outside the gates. She skidded to a halt, kicking up dust and nearly tripping in the process. Someone shouted at her in annoyance. Aeronwy threw them a finger in response before taking off again. Nine minutes. She couldn't see a single sign of a ticket anywhere. Her breaths were ragged, lungs struggling to keep up with the sudden exertion.

 _God don't fucking do this to me please, come I just need the ticket._

She could already see the disappointment on everyone's faces. Failing without even getting to do the test? Failing to become a Huntress just because of one _**stupid**_ fucking piece of paper?! It was almost funny if it wasn't so sad. And terrifying.

She strained her eyes, head whipping back and forth almost in a frenzy as she made it onto the main road. Eight minutes. Nearly seven minutes. Nothing here. She held in a frantic breath. What if she had lost it back near the wall? She didn't even know if she could make it there in time.

Scroll out again. The numbers were mocking her.

Her stomach was a pit. A gaping pit. With butterflies. Grimm butterflies, maybe.

She was wasting time.

She couldn't make it.

Had it been that gust?! Her hopes plummeted once more.

The wind could have carried it anywhere.

Aeronwy felt her legs go weak.

 _Hah, fucking …_

Doomed.

She could feel the blood pumping through her veins. The beating of her heart. The rushing sounds of air past her ears.

Seven minutes, maybe?

She stared unblinkingly down at the dusty pavement.

Absolutely doomed.

She just wanted to collaps-

"Did you drop this?"

Aeronwy looked up.

There was a girl standing there, concern evident in her bright blue eyes. A pretty, warm smile. Violet-haired, extending into two, long braided tails. Flower hairclips. Aeronwy could dimly notice that the other girl was slightly shorter than her.

She wasn't focusing on that.

She was focusing on what was in the girl's outstretched hand.

A dusty slip of paper held towards her between two long fingers.

Aeronwy Larkspur had never seen anything more beautiful in her entire life.

"Beautiful," she croaked out (almost hypnotically), reaching towards the admission ticket.

"Eh?"

"Oh, um." The confused sound redirected her attention to the girl. She pulled her hand back an inch. "It's mine. Yeah. My ticket. I dropped it."

Despite her stumbling and awkward phrasing, the message was received loud and clear by the other girl, if the smile was any indication.

"That's good to hear," said her saviour with a quiet giggle, pressing the ticket into Aeronwy's still-outstretched hand and closing her fingers around it. "I was worried that I wouldn't find you."

That was strange for somebody else to say. The redhead herself had been already incredibly worried about finding her ticket and getting to the venue on time, but someone else didn't need to have to worry for her about tha-.

 _Wait, rewind that for me._

Time.

Getting to the venue on time.

A second ticked down.

"Five minutes!" she blurted out hurriedly, swivelling around on a foot and breaking out into a run. There was no time for thanks. She was going to be late. She couldn't be late. They wouldn't let her in if she was late. She'd just gotten her ticket back, and she certainly wouldn't let herself fail after this!

There was a panicked exclamation somewhere behind her, and then the sound of running.

It was violet hair.

"You're going to Shade too?!" Aeronwy asked between rapid breaths as the other girl began to catch up. "Seriously?"

"Of course," gasped her saviour, seemingly struggling with having to suddenly start running. "Damn it, I thought we would have more time."

The Academy wasn't too far now, but Aeronwy didn't know if she could make it up the ziggurat steps to where the tests were held in the next four minutes. She pushed more into her legs, begging her muscles to keep her moving. The build-up of lactic acid from before made them ache, but she tried to ignore it. There was no time or that!

"Same," she did manage to reply, even though her strides were already taking her further away from her newly-found companion in 'trying not to be late'. "You better run faster than that if you wanna get in!"

There was the sound of somebody huffing with exertion, and mere seconds later, the violet-haired girl had caught up, her awkward, gasping motions from earlier giving way to a steady run.

"I hope you can too, Aeronwy Larkspur!" she said, flashing the redhead a smile. "There wouldn't be any point in you saying thanks if you couldn't!"

"Wait, how do you kn-"

"Your name was on the ticket!"

With a burst of speed that Aeronwy swore must have been aura-assisted, the other girl immediately overtook her, her laughter growing fainter and fainter as the distance between them grew.

Three minutes.

In her first stroke of good luck since her arrival at Shade, Aeronwy successfully made it into the examination hall with only seconds to spare. She had caught a glimpse of purple amongst the crowd of hundreds earlier, but for all intents and purposes, the girl who rescued her ticket had essentially disappeared, leaving her alone once more. That was a pain; the redhead wanted to at least say 'thank you' for saving her from the frying pan. And find a way to get a race going; she wasn't just going to let anybody beat her that easily!

But she would just have to leave it for next time.

Hopefully, after being accepted by Shade.

It was funny how little she was worrying over actually getting in now. Even though all the prospective students were moving to their assigned seats (her included), the fears of failing the exam seemed so distant. Probably because there was no turning back now; there was nothing else they could do but trust in themselves and get through the tests.

She sat patiently at her desk as the first portion of the exam – the written section – was placed in front of her. She took in a quiet breath. The beating of her heart had slowed. There was still a niggling voice in the back of her mind asking whether or she really could succeed, but she ignored it.

She just had to push ahead.

And when Aeronwy Larkspur was given the go-ahead to begin, the voice disappeared.

She looked at the test before her and grinned.

 _I got this_.

The written exam was over. With a sigh of utter relief, the red-haired girl collapsed onto a seat in the waiting room, basking in the privilege of no longer needing to think. She wasn't free from the exam yet, but she had triumphed over what she considered the harder half: the application of all the weird theoretical hunting knowledge that she needed to study up on before becoming a Huntress. Information on how to make use of Dust, a bit of history, identifying Grimm … it felt like she had been writing her own textbook in there.

But that was done and dusted. Gone. All of it now stuff that Aeronwy wouldn't need to worry about until she actually got in (and unless she really screwed up the combat portion, she was feeling really confident about her chances). It was amazing how many of her feelings had changed since earlier in the day. Her stresses had all but disappeared with the end of that part of the exam, and all that awaited her now was something that she was nowhere near as worried about.

The combat tests.

She glanced around the room, taking in the appearances of her fellow examinees. Given the number of prospective students, they were split into several groups, with each having been sent to different areas of the venue. It looked like that violet-haired girl wasn't here, which was a pain. Then again, it wasn't like she could've said anything even if they had been put in the same group. All of them had to wait here in silence.

It was getting really boring though, and she was pretty sure the short, tattooed boy fidgeting with his twin blades on the seat next to her was thinking the exact same thing.

Aeronwy leaned forward, propping her chin against steepled hands. If the wait had been for the written exam, she probably would've taken the time to try and get some last-minute studying in, but there wasn't any way to get prepped for a fight when the examiners wouldn't let her move around the room. She didn't even know _what_ she was supposed to be prepared for either, and observing the exiting examinees was remarkably dearth of any useful information.

She could recognise the eclectic variety of emotions they seemed to be experiencing, but on what was possibly awaiting her within, there was absolutely no dice.

She let out an exhausted sigh.

It was a waiting game.

Slowly but surely, the number of examinees waiting diminished as more and more of them were called up to the rooms for their tests. Even the boy sitting next to her had been summoned. She idly mused about how he would fare: he really hadn't looked like a fighting type.

Another student, this one barely holding back tears, exited.

And thus, her turn arrived.

"Numbers 104, 105 and 106," said a voice over the intercom. "Please make your way to your respective testing rooms."

 _Finally._

Aeronwy pushed herself off the chair, lightly stretching her arms out to rid herself of any knots that had developed. There was no way she was going to get into a fight with her muscles cramped. Huffing in satisfaction, she rolled her right shoulder, feeling the tension dissipate before she picked her bindle up from the floor next to the chair. It was go time.

With one last deep breath, she began to walk towards her assigned door.

As Aeronwy stepped past the threshold and into the room, her eyes rapidly glanced around for what she was supposed to be showing off on. They immediately fell upon a vaguely humanoid robot drone – probably one that fell off the back of an Atlesian truck – and the woman boredly sitting against the table next to it, silver eyes glued to the display of a Scroll. The examiner. Except she wasn't even bothering to look in the redhead's direction.

It actually felt pretty insulting.

But before Aeronwy could speak up, the woman's eyes shot upwards faster than a firework, gaze nailing the teenage girl to her spot.

"Oh, you're here," the examiner said blandly. "Number 105, is it?"

"It's Aeronwy," the redhead replied, her tone a bit more snappish and vigorous than necessary. "Aeronwy Larkspur. Here to get this combat test done."

The examiner brushed a few strands of blonde hair away from her face. "Then you're in the right place, Number 105," she continued without much enthusiasm, nor any acknowledgement of Aeronwy's manner of speech. "My name is Niloufar Kərəsāspa, your examiner today and, if you can defeat this android, possibly even a future lecturer of yours."

Aeronwy nodded. "Right, beat the android. That's all I gotta do?"

Without any fanfare, the machine roared to life, a metallic sword flashing from its left arm as it immediately charged the red-haired girl. She squeaked in surprise, barely parrying the swinging blade in time with her bindle before dropping to the floor and rolling past it.

"What the _hell_?!" she shouted, scrambling back up and holding her bindle out like a makeshift sword as the android began to turn around. "Don't drop that on me without any warning!"

Niloufar shrugged, head turning to face the girl. "Nature rarely gives you warning, and a Huntress shouldn't be too inconvenienced by sudden danger," she commented matter-of-factly. "Although, you would be more effective with an actual weapon in your hands."

Metal met wood once again, and Aeronwy could only hiss as she tried to push the android's weapon away with her bindle. It wasn't working very well, not when her travelling pack _wasn't even supposed to be a weapon_ and would probably break if took any more beatings. This was way more sudden than she'd thought it be! She lashed out with a kick, an aura-infused foot meeting the robot's torso and knocking it back.

"Can't get a weapon out if I don't have time!" the redhead snapped, taking advantage of the brief amount of breathing space she had made for herself. "And which one do you want anyway?!"

Her examiner leaned forward. "Which?" she asked, a note of interest creeping into her tone. "Interesting terminology. You specialise in more than one weapon?"

Aeronwy narrowly ducked under a powerful swing, taking the chance to dash past the android with a burst of aura. "No, I just don't have a preference yet!" she replied, turning around and slamming the machine in the back with another kick. "Been trying things out before I grab one of those expensive, fancier ones."

She unravelled the sack at the top of her bindle, dropping the heavy leather to the ground with a thud. As it spread out across the floor, the examiner would see the weapons she'd chosen to bring along today: a hatchet, a baton that could extend outwards with a press of a button, two daggers, and a handgun she'd actually just picked up from a depot a few days ago. They weren't particularly shiny or fancy little things, and she wasn't planning on making them that way until she had the money to do so, but they were still her weapons, and she'd show the examiner that she could take down the robot with any single one of them!

"A jack-of-all-trades?" asked Niloufar with a hint of bemusement, crossing a pantyhose-covered leg over the other. "Or are you simply pretending in order to show off?"

Aeronwy ignored the examiner, instead ducking down to grab the baton from her pile. The weapon lengthened, the sound of metal scraping against itself resounding across the room once more as she thrusted past the robot's guard, baton tip slamming hard against its chest before it could attempt another strike on her person. No stupid robot was going to get a single hit on her, and that was a promise.

"Think whatever you want," she shot back, taking the chance to grab her pistol. Even if she was hitting hard enough to stagger, the robot wasn't taking any visible damage from all the strikes, and it recovered too quickly for her to land any more blows when that wicked blade of it could easily lop her head off. First time she'd ever fought one of those Atlesian machines, and it damn sure was living up to those expectations of quality. "Only thing you want me to do is beat this guy, right?"

The robot's right arm suddenly began to whir, transforming into the barrel of a cannon. Aeronwy barely had time to let out a curse before it fired, a Dust-infused round rocketing through the air towards her. She took a dive, wincing as she slammed against the cold, hard floor. Behind her, the projectile exploded upon impact with the wall, and even from her position, she could feel the heat wash over her completely.

"That's technically what I want, yes," replied her examiner. "Although, your current weapons do not appear to be very effective in fulfilling that request."

Aeronwy scrambled to her feet, pushing aura into her legs and dashing towards Niloufar as another round impacted the ground behind her. She slammed into the table, only dimly aware that the examiner had floated off before the impact. Wood crashed to the ground, but that was what she wanted. Knocking into a table and taking in the pain wasn't just for the fun of it.

She needed some cover.

"You trying to get me to show off everything or something?" the redhead muttered quietly to herself, pulling out a cartridge of yellow lightning Dust and slotting it into her handgun. Her baton sat at her side, placed down so she could load in ammunition more quickly. The android hadn't fired yet, even though she was pretty sure that some overturned wooden table wouldn't stand up to one of its shots, but maybe its robo-brain just wasn't able to target when an enemy disappeared from view.

It hadn't even noticed her voice.

Her examiner, however, did. Somehow.

"No point in hiding it anymore," sang Niloufar's measured tones across the room. "That is correct. I want to see if you truly can make use of all your weapons against this foe."

Aeronwy poked her head up from behind the overturned table, firing an electrified bullet straight at the still-searching robot. The attack struck it in the shoulder of its cannon arm, lightning immediately running through its metallic body as smoke began to rise from the hole. The built-in firearm, hopefully, had been disabled.

"Aren't you a bit demanding for an examiner?!" she shouted at the older woman (who was now leaning against the damaged wall, arms crossed) before ducking back down before the robot could see her.

"I've overseen too many of these combat tests today," was the reply the redhead received. "None of them were even potentially interesting at this stage. So …"

There was a loud, metallic whine as the robot finally noticed the table, and it immediately began to rush towards Aeronwy. She leapt from cover, firing another shot – this time at the machine's torso, the sudden surge of electricity halting its motions. Its arms jerked and jittered, unable to handle increased current inside its circuits.

"So what?" asked the redhead flatly, pulling herself off the ground where she'd landed. It had seriously hurt, but she was pretty sure her tank of aura was still close to full. "Did you want me to entertain you or something?"

She walked towards the disabled robot, slotting in a cartridge of fire Dust into her gun this time.

"Doesn't matter if you wanna see me thrown down with everything," she continued. "I just needed to take this guy out, right? So, I'm going to do that the way I want."

Aeronwy pointed her weapon at the android and fired. The bullet erupted into flames upon impact, engulfing the entire machine in searing orange.

"There, that's a pass yeah?"

For a second, Niloufar didn't reply.

Then, a smile slowly emerged on her dark-skinned face. It was an eerie transformation from the disinterest of earlier, and Aeronwy felt her heart sink; she had no idea what that could mean or anything, but she was pretty sure it wasn't going to be nice.

"I'm slightly impressed," admitted the examiner honestly, uncrossing her arms, "but something more impressive is necessary ..."

Aeronwy was afraid to ask. But she did it anyway. "Um, and what's that gonna be?"

There was a sudden clacking noise, and from the ceiling there was a loud, low and guttural sound. A strange combination of a roar and a snarl. Hinges creaked. The redhead's blood ran cold.

The trap door swung open.

And the Boarbatusk dropped right in front of her with a massive thud, floor cracking beneath it.

"Behold!" cried out Niloufar, utterly unfazed by the appearance of a Creature of Grimm in her testing room. "The Boarbatusk! Twelve feet and over a thousand pounds of pure hatred in the form of a swine! Armour of bone that can withstand the assault of an autocannon! Inexhaustible power that can overwhelm even a freight train!"

Aeronwy Larkspur _was very much aware_ of those facts. Particularly because it was a Creature of Grimm that was in a confined room with her and was _very intent_ on killing her.

"What the _fuck_?" she screamed out, shooting as many Dust rounds at the beast as possible as she tried to move to a (slightly) safer distance. Despite the flames that emerged with every impact, the projectiles seemed to only ping off its armour, serving as more of an annoyance than an actual threat. Like a fly.

That it was about to swat.

The redhead barely managed to leap out of the way as the evil boar charged, its tusks whiffing past her and instead ripping an entire chunk of the wall behind her. She was doomed. She didn't even know if it was part of the test. Why was there a Grimm in the test? What the _hell_? That had come out of absolutely nowhere!

"It's a truly beautiful creature," continued her examiner, utterly disregarding Aeronwy's panicked attempts at finding a weak point in the monster, "one that can easily kill a trained Hunter even if they thought themselves prepared. Any slip of concentration, any sudden hesitation, or even just a plain moment of unluckiness … the Boarbatusk will take advantage of that, and you will die, another victim to its incredible strength."

"Then stop yapping and let me kill this thing!"

The handgun just wasn't working. She slammed her extendable baton against the monster's side, but even her hard swings weren't doing much to the armour. That was out. She jumped back, the stench of the Boarbatusk wafting through the air from how close she had just been to getting gored on those tusks.

Damnit, she needed some way to get around those armour plates. Blunt attacks wouldn't work, but what if she tried to _peel_ it off with something?

"Oh, you don't necessarily have to kill it," explained Niloufar with a smile. "You merely have to survive for four minutes; we don't expect you to 'win'."

Aeronwy dropped the baton to the floor and leaped over the monstrous hog to where she had left her other weapons earlier and grabbing the twin daggers. What did that overly-talky examiner think she was here for? Just needing to survive? Screw that. She'd win this. No pig was going to intimidate her!

"I'll take it down in three!" she roared, charging the Boarbatusk the moment it turned and stabbing the daggers straight into its unprotected snout. It was a risky attack, but all she needed to do was move faster than the stupid pig and she wouldn't get gored on those deadly tusks.

And it paid off.

The boar shrieked in pain, the sound more painful to hear than nails on a blackboard. Aeronwy refused to let that stop her, immediately taking several aura-boosted steps back to sweep her hatchet off the floor.

She wasn't going to just run down the timer.

She'd win this thing on her own terms.

Aeronwy leapt forward, slamming an aura-powered kick straight into one of the daggers and driving it further into the monster's black meat. She took advantage of the impact, throwing herself up and onto the back of the Boarbatusk. She swung downwards, hatchet wedging into the border between the flesh and its bone armour that surrounded its eyes.

The monster roared and shook with wild abandon, blood spilling everywhere as it frantically tried to throw the redhead off with its considerable strength.

She refused to do so.

With a roar of her own, Aeronwy Larkspur ripped the bone faceplate off in a spurt of red.

"This is _**my**_ win, Grimm!" she screamed, jumping off the convulsing monster and landing unsteadily on the floor. "That was three minutes!"

Handgun out. Bang.

Black smoke poured out of the hole between the Boarbatusk's bleeding, unprotected eyes.

It collapsed.

The corpse began to dissolve.

Tension left her body as her breathing slowly returned to normal

"That impressive enough?" she snapped, her heart still pumping adrenaline through her veins as she turned to stare down her smiling examiner.

Said woman laughed.

"More than enough," said Niloufar Kərəsāspa after her guffaws had died down, walking towards the redheaded girl and patting her shoulder. "I believe this would be called jumping the gun, but …"

Aeronwy took in a sharp breath, waiting for the examiner's next words.

"I hope you can continue to impress me at Shade, Number 105 –" There was a pause as the examiner's mouth quirked up into an honest smile. "– no, Ms. Larkspur."


	2. First Steps: Meet and Greet

The phone rang once.

It rang twice.

She didn't breathe, tapping her foot expectantly against the ground as she impatiently waited for the line to pick up. She had been waiting for too long to make the call. It had already been a week – seven days of nothing but impatiently pacing about an unfamiliar town, struggling to clamp down on the intense enthusiasm that threatened to completely overwhelm her. To keep herself from spilling the beans early and ruining everything she had been working so hard towards.

But now, with that innocuous little envelope sitting only a metre away on her bed, it was finally time.

 _Come on, come on, just pick up!_

She couldn't hold it in any longer.

The call connected. A boyish voice spoke.

" _Hey, this is-"_

"I PASSED!" was Aeronwy Larkspur's excited scream, seven days' worth of holding back her enthusiasm ripping free of their shackles. Seven days' worth of waiting with the knowledge of her success breaking through the dam's walls. Seven days' worth of needing to keep her passing a secret no longer a limitation to be followed. "I DID IT! I GOT INTO SHADE! _I'M A HUNTRESS!_ "

There was a single note of silence on the other end.

Then –

" _Dad! She passed! Aeronwy did it again!"_

There was an immediate shout in the background. _"WHAT?!"_ Heavy footsteps, and suddenly ( _"Sorry Idris I am applying eminent domain!" / "Oi dad no fair!"_ ) there was crackling on the other end, as if there was a short struggle.

" _YOU HAVE TRIUMPHED, AERONWY?!"_ boomed her father. _"A TRAINEE HUNTRESS OF SHADE?!"_

"I have! I am!" Even though she knew he couldn't see her, the redheaded girl couldn't help but nod vigorously. Her smile was threatening to eat up her entire face, but she didn't care at all. Not when she could finally tell her family that she had done it. That she had passed (and totally aced, mind you) the entrance exams. "I even took out a Boarbatusk!"

" _MOST MAGNIFICENT! YOUR SUCCESS HAS MADE US TRULY PROUD!"_

Immediately, there was the sound of another scuffle.

" _Oi dad gimme it back and –"_ Her brother had clearly gotten hold of the phone again. _"Right on, Aeronwy! I knew my big sister would be victorious! You were totally awesome, right? Totally showed them, right? No way you couldn't have gotten in!"_

She gripped tightly onto the phone, feeling very relieved that her family couldn't see that her face had taken upon the colour of her crimson hair. And to think she had been worrying so much about failing before the exam started! Just because Shade was so huge didn't mean she should have been intimidated by it. Not when her family had been so confident in her.

"Of course!" she replied proudly, fighting down the redness in her cheeks. "Your big sis definitely won this thing! Pretty much aced it!"

" _Heh, just wait, Aeronwy. I'll do even better than you when it's my turn to go!"_

Her little brother's declaration only made her smile even more. "Don't get cocky, Idris. If you can't even beat me in fighting games, you're never going to win there either!"

" _Watch m- oi hey Dad give back the phoooo-"_

Once again, her father had nabbed the phone away from her brother.

" _SHADE IS TRULY – no Idris, I must ask vital questions of your sister – FORTUNATE TO HAVE YOU!"_ continued the Larkspur patriarch in the same enthusiastic tone, briefly stopping only once. _"But more importantly! When do you begin your conquest of all the classes?!"_

"I don't think I'm gonna be conquering anything, pops," replied the redhead girl, scratching her cheek awkwardly. Her father's extreme excitement was ebbing slightly, having returned to an indoor voice. "But when I rock up next week, those straight A's are gonna be coming before you know it! Future number one Huntress of Shade right here!"

There was a warm chuckle over the line.

" _You can certainly do it with that faith!"_ said her father encouragingly. _"But, if it's in a week, are you able to return to the homestead? Are we to celebrate your GLORIOUS VICTORY?"_

Aeronwy had thought about going home after the exams, but after her examiner jumped the gun on telling her that she'd passed, she couldn't help but want to stay near Shade. She wanted to get ahead on finding her way around and everything, even if they weren't letting her physically onto the campus grounds. She couldn't help it. Even if she was missing out on a party, there was just something incredibly _grand_ about being so close to the Huntsman Academy.

She'd worked so hard towards the goal of getting in, and now that goal was a reality.

She couldn't tear herself away from it.

"Sorry dad," she answered apologetically. They'd understand. It was hard to explain, but whenever she looked out of her motel room window at the mighty ziggurat that loomed over the town, it was just … this magnificent thing that she couldn't escape. Because she had made it. She was a Huntress. "I don't think I can make it back."

"… _Well, it's perfectly fine. But! Are you fine where you're currently staying? Are you well-fed and healthy? A Larkspur should not neglect their diet even in a far-flung land! If you need anything more, we will send it over!"_

Her father was already bouncing back. It was such an overwhelming wave of infectious enthusiasm that Aeronwy couldn't help but burst into laughter. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate all his concerns and offers, but it was just too much sometimes.

Way too much.

"It's all g, dad," she replied between giggles. "Got all the stuff I need right here. Don't go crazy with sending anything else."

" _Not even more weapons?"_ asked her father. _"Are you sure? Were the ones you brought effective in your exam? The right weapons can decide a great deal!"_

"I'm sure," she emphasised. "I got this."

" _Very well then, I won't keep you. May the gods bless your efforts, BELOVED DAUGHTER! I'll be waiting to hear of you explo-"_

There was the sound of another struggle, and her brother's voice appeared.

" _And I'll beat every single one of them! So, go beat everyone else so you can lose to me!"_

Aeronwy held in a smirk. "Keep dreaming. But anyway –" She glanced out the window at the setting sun. "– I gotta get some prep done for Shade. Talk to you guys later?"

" _Yeah, seeya later, sis. Just remember that I'm 100% gonn-_ " A crackle. _"May you be fortunate in your endeavours / Oi dad stop snatching the-"_

The line went dead. The redheaded girl listened to the tone for another second, before throwing herself back onto her squeaking bed. She breathed out a sigh of relief. Her smile still hadn't left, grin trapped in position on her face. She'd told them. Her family knew she was going to Shade now.

She stared up at the cream ceiling, paint flaking off onto the slow-turning fan.

She'd gotten in.

She really was a Huntress now.

Aeronwy turned her head, cheek pressing down onto the soft mattress as her scarlet eyes met the simple little acceptance letter sitting mere inches away.

Just a little bit more, and she'd be a full-fledged trainee.

"Urgh," she groaned, rolling over onto her front. "Admin work."

This time around, the sight of Shade Academy reaching for the heavens was one that instilled a sense of awe and grandness rather than fear. The ziggurat was a colossal construction, its shadow looming over the ramshackle township in a manner that was almost threatening. She certainly had thought so on that first day. But now, standing at the base of the mighty pyramid, she could clearly see why it was the guardian and protector of Vacuo's powerless.

The home of every Hunter in the west of Sanus.

A powerful titan that dared any wannabe demagogue to disrupt the fragile order it maintained.

To strike at its people … and be crushed like ants in the process.

Aeronwy Larkspur took in a deep breath. The air was filled with a great multitude of scents, their variety stemming from the sheer number of trainee Hunters that had gathered here at Shade today from across Remnant. The rich, smoky smell of Dust from smoggy Vacuuan mines. The icy, metallic odours of Atlesian weaponry. The faint, calming aromas of dying Valic plantlife. The heavy, fragrant incense used in Mistralese perfumes.

So many people. Each and every single one of them a starry-eyed Hunter like her, filing into the ziggurat with their heads held high. She was itching to see their strength in action, and though the redhead wasn't sure on when she could do so, she was already feeling excited for the prospect. She wanted to challenge them and win, to prove herself in honest competition.

Making her way up the steps and into the Academy structure itself seemed like the thing to do if she wanted a chance to fight them. There was supposed to be a speech by the faculty before they were sent off to an initiation, but despite having already visited the ziggurat once during the entrance exams, she had absolutely no idea where all that was supposed to happen. The path they'd given her on the acceptance letter was unfamiliar, and all the rooms she was passing by were too.

She'd just have to stick it out and hope that she was going in the right direction.

Soon enough, she and a number of other new students found themselves exiting into a clearing, the bright Vacuuan sun immediately beaming down upon them after the relative darkness of the tunnel-like hallways. Aeronwy threw a hand over her red eyes with a wince, trying to protect them from the glare. That was way too sudden of a shift for her to handle! Maybe she needed to invest in sunglasses if she was going to be wandering around campus.

At least until she got used to the thing, anyway.

As her eyes adjusted to the sudden influx of light, the crimson-haired girl decided to take a look around. The floor beneath seemed to be made of a white stone, and it definitely felt like it to her tapping feet. It was unfortunately a bit shinier than what she would've liked, though, and that was something that the narrow, clear ceiling so far above them was probably responsible for. It was also responsible for the crick in her neck from needing to crane upwards so much! She could see other floors of the building too, with each seeming to surround the "square" that made up their clearing. Pulling her gaze away from above her (which something her neck really dug), Aeronwy decided to check out what was on her level. There were a few decorative plants in the corners of the room, and a small, raised platform sat in the centre, directly beneath the ceiling glass. That was probably where the speechmaker was going to stand.

She pulled out the crumpled acceptance letter from the breast pocket of her white shirt. It looked like there was still a decent chunk of time before the speech.

That explained why there were so many other students milling about too. They were waiting for something to happen – just like her.

 _Must be pretty boring, huh?_

Maybe it could be a good idea to talk to one of them. See what her fellow students were going to be like and if they would be a good fight or not. And maybe even make friends. Aeronwy allowed her lips to quirk up into a grin. It was decided, she was going to go meet some new folks.

She began to step forward.

"That's a beautifully radiant smile you have there, comrade," spoke a voice from her right. "Any chance you could flash it this one's way? This dark heart doesn't know the light of love."

Aeronwy turned around. The speaker was a cerulean-haired girl garbed from head-to-toe in a blue, hooded tracksuit, a sight that immediately had her double-take. Even if it was cooler than usual this time of year, they were still living in a desert! For what reason would somebody wear a tracksuit in Vacuo of all places? It boggled the mind. Yet that was not what the redhead was focusing on the most: that honour went to the stranger's face.

Beneath the other girl's electric blue eyes and surrounded by eerily (almost ghost-like) pale skin was a … mouth-looking thing that she couldn't describe in any other manner than "freaky as hell". Especially when it was "open". There were saw-like objects in that gaping maw, radially organised, and she was pretty sure she could glimpse something more beyond that darkness. A prominent, beak-like thing was attached to the outside of the hole, and even though she didn't know anything about it, Aeronwy was almost sure that it could crush her hands with ease. And was that a tongue? She tried not to recoil, schooling her face. What was up with this person?

 _Is this girl a mutant?!_

Despite her efforts, the other girl had clearly noticed her discomfort.

"Can't appreciate a fine, non-mammalian organ then?" piped up the eerie-looking girl with a sad shake of her head. "Drat, another chance gone thanks to incompatible tastes."

She seemed to perk up almost immediately, and proceeded to … grin … at the awkward Aeronwy.

"I'm Hafgufa," she said casually, holding a hand (a perfectly human one) out in greeting. "Linna Hafgufa. Cephalopod, if you didn't already notice from this beautiful face. Makes it hard to get with the girls though. Your people just don't have the eyes needed to appreciate it."

Her electric blue eyes immediately leapt up to meet Aeronwy's red.

"Though this comrade thinks your eyes are perfect the way they are."

There was a beat as Aeronwy held the gaze, fumbling for something to say.

"Uh, your pick-up lines are really shitty?" she blurted out. "I mean, um, no offense, mate, but I'm not feeling them. At all. I could probably do way better."

The Faunus in front of her (because mutant was definitely off the list, which Aeronwy felt pretty uncomfortable about having put onto it in the first place) blinked in surprise, as if nobody had actually focused on the actual pick-up lines themselves. Especially though they super cheesy. Aeronwy had watched cartoon characters with way better skills in that field.

"You sure they're bad, comrade?" Linna questioned, trying to look as if the fact had definitely not occurred to her in the slightest. "Is my mouth not the something that's ruining the appeal?"

This wasn't what Aeronwy was thinking of at all when she decided that she was going to meet new folks. It was completely off-target from what she was thinking of.

"I'm not into your mouth," she said honestly, feeling incredibly awkward as she did so. And not only did that sound weird, did it count as being racist? She tried to push on. "Sorry, but other than that, those lines don't work either. They're pretty shite – uh, lame."

Linna didn't speak for a few seconds, pulling the still-proffered hand back and crossing her arms. "Missing out on a beauty like me then," she said with a shake of her head and a tutting sound. "But I'm pretty curious: are you sure that you can beat my pick-up lines? They have not gotten me stoned by angry mobs, ohohoho."

"What." Aeronwy didn't expect that. "… Stoned?"

The Faunus waved dismissively in her direction. "Ah, not to worry, comrade. It was joke, just like you say my pick-up lines are. But you sure _yours_ can be better?"

Aeronwy frowned at her conversation partner. Did the other girl really think that she couldn't come up with something better than that nonsense? Just because she didn't go for the romance thing at all didn't mean she couldn't beat something that was totally trash. She'd prove it. Show that there was no way she couldn't make something up that was better than Linna's crappy lines.

"Watch me," she declared confidently, slamming her fists together. "No matter what, my lines are no way gonna be as shite as yours."

 _Not when it's like they're almost purposely crap or something._

"Then lead on, comrade!"

If Linna actually had a normal human mouth, Aeronwy would've sworn that the Faunus girl was smirking.

There were ten minutes remaining until the speech was to begin, but rather than wait like a normal person, Aeronwy Larkspur was instead lurking behind a potted plant alongside her newfound Faunus companion, trying to pick out somebody to use a pick-up line on. To be more precise, it was Linna who was trying to scope out people who she considered to be "fine-looking comrades, ohohohoho" while the redheaded girl spent her time on shaking out anything that could work as a line from her romantically-deprived brain.

Even though the goal was to just make up a better pick-up line than Linna's atrocities, Aeronwy wanted to take this seriously. It was just wrong for her to not put one hundred percent into things, not even if they were super minor like … whatever she was doing right now. But regardless of that, if there was no passion, there was no work! That was what she had always been told. If she didn't put everything into it, then how could she win?

"That girl looks right down your alley," declared Linna triumphantly, pointing towards a dark-skinned young woman clad in ornate armour and wielding a sword and shield. "You are comrades in the red eyes, and her hair is just as long as yours!"

"I don't have a type?"

Aeronwy was ignored, with her Faunus companion immediately moving on to the next woman to walk into her line of sight. "Then what about her? She has a mature air, and the red and black hair is similar to you as well!"

The redhead stared. She had to. "That's a teacher."

"Semantics!"

"Mate, Linna," said Aeronwy finally, staring down at her companion, "I'm not actually trying to land somebody. This stuff doesn't even work. I'm just here to prove that whatever pick-up line I come up with is way less stupid than your crappy stuff. You can do whatever later."

"But, comrade –"

"Aeronwy. Aeronwy Larkspur. Shoulda gotten that outta the way quicker."

"– Aeronwy, you seem like somebody who wants to do things properly," continued Linna without missing a beat. "Why not just tell this supposedly superior line of yours to a girl I point you towards instead of picking at random? The speech starts soon, after all, and I have put thought into this, yes?"

The redhead sighed. "Fine, hit me up with your directions. Anyone's gonna think my lines work better, got it?" Though, she was still a bit short on them.

Linna's cephalopod mouth twitched in a creepy manner that Aeronwy thought could probably be associated with a smile. "Then," she began, gesturing towards a ginger-haired girl wearing a long, red dress that seemed Mistralese in fashion, "try them out on her!"

"Get ready to lose this, Linna." Aeronwy was definitely not going to fail.

She popped out from behind the potted plant, wondering why the Faunus kept choosing girls with red on them as she began to walk towards the 'target'. Was that the entire reason she was approached in the first place? Having a taste for a colour was perfectly fine and all, but she personally though that was just really weird to her.

 _There an octopus that likes red or something?_

Still, she'd gotten a chance to meet someone new thanks to Linna, and maybe if the target of her half-baked pick-up line thought it was funny enough, then two someones! That would be pretty nice, and as Aeronwy got closer to the other ginger, she decided that was exactly what she was going to do. Make sure that even if her line didn't work (because they never did), she could at least get a name out of the girl. And see if they were a good fight.

The looks didn't say much on that front, though. Now that she was closer, Aeronwy realised more clearly why the getup looked Mistralese to her; the outfit worn by her fellow redhead (albeit with the other girl's ponytail more orange than red) was incredibly reminiscent of a shrinekeeper's. She hadn't seen any of those in real life, but it really did look like a touristy picture for a Mistralese holiday brochure come to life.

"Yo," she said in greeting, throwing out a casual salute and a smile as she approached to catch the other girl's attention. "You got a sec? I need to ask you something."

Her response was a level stare. "What do you want?"

 _Here goes. You watching, Linna? I'll show you how bad you really are!_

"You really make that outfit work," said Aeronwy Larkspur, beginning her attempt. "Were you blessed by the gods to do that, because it looks divine."

Someone somewhere behind her began to choke.

Except the reaction she got was completely unexpected.

"Yes," said the girl in front of her, expression unchanged and brown eyes continuing to stare her down. "They have also tasked me to maintain their shrine in my town. It's how I supplement my spending money."

There was a thud behind her, one followed by gasping laughter.

This wasn't how Aeronwy was expecting things to go at all! She thought it wouldn't be too crappy of a line if she referenced the shrinekeeper look in a way, but was the girl actually a shrinekeeper? Who had taken her words at complete face-value? The redhead awkwardly scratched the back of her neck, glancing away from the other girl for a second. That challenge didn't seem to work out.

 _How am I gonna be judged as better now, anyway?_

"That's uh, pretty cool," Aeronwy continued, deciding to push on. "Explains the clothes. But why are you still wearing them out here though? Don't you just leave it at a shrine?"

Even if that contest about the pick-up lines wasn't going to resolve itself, she could deal with it later. For now, she was moving on to the next stage of her plan: meeting another new person!

The shrinekeeper immediately looked down, expression flat even as she seemed to hesitate over her next words. Aeronwy blinked. Was the other girl blushing too? There was a slight hint of red to the cheeks, but she was pretty sure she hadn't said anything that could've been taken that badly, right? Except maybe that pick-up line but that was too long ago – it'd already been nearly a minute.

"Uh, you alright there?" the redhead asked. "What's up with your clothes again?"

"… I do not own anything else." She was definitely blushing somewhat.

Aeronwy gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Eh, don't worry about it," said the redhead reassuringly, grinning at the girl. "If you want, I can help you buy some stuff. Or I could lend you some of mine? Oh yeah, nearly forgot –"

She held out her right hand. "– I'm Aeronwy Larkspur, nice to meet you."

The other girl gingerly took it. "Mito," she replied in her reserved tone, the red draining from her cheeks. "Kozuka Mito. I very much appreciate your offer."

 _Alright! I guess I should try look around some shops-_

"I cannot believe you actually went ahead, comrade!"

 _Oh right, nearly forgot there._

Aeronwy turned around, gaze meeting that of Linna's electric blue eyes (she was getting used to the mouth, but she didn't really like looking at it). The cephalopod (she probably should've asked what type earlier) Faunus had a certain twinkle in her eye that the redhead immediately focused on, a suspicion from earlier beginning to gnaw at her mind.

"Did you actually know your lines were crap from the beginning?" she asked flatly.

Linna gave her a thumbs-up. "That is correct!"

 _Wait, then this contest didn't mean anything?!_

"That means it doesn't even count as a win! Why the hell did you say those crappy lines then?"

The cephalopod Faunus tapped held a pale finger up, stemming any further confused questions that would have come her way from Aeronwy. After a second of silence, she answered.

"Gimme a million lien, and I might tell you," she said jokingly. "But for a serious answer, comrade, I thought it would be funny, ohohohoho."

Aeronwy crossed her arms. " _That's_ why? And you just let me go along with it?"

"It was funny," admitted Linna once again, before she shook her head with a sigh. "But I am genuinely saddened that you shake her hand but not mine. My hand has appeal too, you should know. Calluses show hard work in the mines, ohohoho."

Blue eyes flickered towards Mito, who (even if her expression didn't seem to have changed much) was probably very confused by Linna's sudden appearance and their conversation. Although, Aeronwy noted, she didn't look like she found the Faunus' mouth to be freaky at all.

"Linna Hafgufa, charmed to make your acquaintance," introduced the tracksuit-wearing girl smoothly, winking at Mito. "I hope we have a fruitful time together here at Shade."

"Mito," said the stoic shrinekeeper girl in response, imitating Aeronwy's action from before and holding out her own hand for Linna to shake. "I share your sentiment."

Linna's eyes brightened, and she unhesitatingly took the hand, although not without giving Aeronwy a look that said: _"See?_ She's _polite enough to shake my hand!"_

The redhead mentally pushed Linna higher up on her priority list of people to grab a fight from.

"So what are you fine comrades up to this fine day?" asked the cephalopod as the exchange ended, ignorant of Aeronwy's growing desire to start a fight. "I myself feel lucky to be amongst two pretty girls, ohohoho."

"I have been waiting for the headmistress' speech," answered Mito, the stoic-looking young woman turning towards the empty stage at the centre of the room. "It should be starting soon."

Aeronwy frowned at those words. She reached into her pocket, pulling out her Scroll and bringing up the screen. It was already a few minutes past the stated start time. That was really weird. Especially with no sign of Shade's chief Hunter or even any other teacher. Shouldn't there have been even one person around for preparations? Even that one Linna tried to point out earlier had left the room without them noticing too!

 _Guess they're really late?_

She wasn't the only one to notice. A number of other students around them were too.

"Man, we've been here for an hour," complained a tall blonde boy across the room to his shorter, glasses-wearing friend. "Just can't believe it. And the teach is late too. Can you believe it?"

"Is this okay?" piped up the childish-sounding boy with tattoos who had been sneaking around. "I wanna hear the speech!"

"What if they have been beset upon by trouble?" the armoured girl standing only a metre away from Aeronwy murmured to herself. She immediately recognised the dark-skinned student as the same one Linna had shown interest in from before. "If they have, should we lend help …? It would be improper not to otherwise."

And, as if noticing that Aeronwy's presence, her gaze turned towards the redhead.

"Oh – you heard," she said. "Are you also wondering why the faculty is missing?"

The redhead glanced down at her Scroll again. The clock was still continuing to tick.

"Yeah, they're seriously late," Aeronwy agreed. "They should really try to be more on-time."

"I did, but there were issues my colleagues needed to resolve," announced a strong, measured and _incredibly_ familiar voice. Aeronwy (and numerous other students) immediately swung around to find a dark-skinned blonde (although this time in a suit?) striding through the crowd as if she was the master of the place. The examiner she'd gotten during the test: Niloufar Kərəsāspa.

With only a slight nod in Aeronwy's direction, the examiner and faculty member made her way through the sea of students, emerging onto the raised stage before adjusting the microphone hanging from her ear.

"Apologies for the delay," Niloufar began in a controlled tone, scanning the body of students with her clinical, silver eyes. "Unfortunately, the headmistress is unavailable today, so I will be making this speech. I am Doctor Niloufar Kərəsāspa of Grimm Studies. You will likely be seeing more of me very soon."

She paused for a moment, allowing her explanations to sink into the students' minds.

"In the place of the headmistress, I would like to welcome all of you to Shade Academy. It is evident that you all were all passably strong enough to be accepted here, and for that accomplishment, I offer you congratulations."

"However, do not get too comfortable. While you all may be good enough for entry, that level of strength will only render you victims to the Grimm hordes that stalk our borders!"

Her voice began to rise in volume.

"We will train you to better survive their multitude varieties, but if you seek to be more than unexceptional nobodies, it will be your responsibility to obtain that power, to find the strength needed to destroy the creatures that threaten your lives. Shade will not coddle you."

"If you attempt half-measures, there will be absolutely no chance that you will survive, let alone become a supposed 'hero'. It is your responsibility, not ours and not your peers, to ensure that you are prepared as much as possible against the foes that shall descend upon us."

A growl emerged from her throat.

"Let no hardship deter you from searching for that promised victory. Do not falter against the murderous nature of the creatures of Grimm. If you dare take a step back, well –" There was a shift in her eyes. "– None of us will be bringing your corpses back from the desert."

She stopped, taking in the silence that had overwhelmed the students.

"Initiation will begin tomorrow," added Niloufar, interrupting the redhead's thoughts with the casual remark. "This will be a chance for you to meet your allies against your would-be killers. Do not waste this opportunity. You will be allowed to rest in the Academy ballroom tonight."

A hint of a smirk. "I guarantee that you will need it."

And just like that, the speech was over.

Aeronwy stared at the retreating back of her examiner, the blonde woman already leaving the stage for the side exits while the student body tried to wrap their minds around the contents of that speech. She definitely found it to be pretty strange and morbid, and if any of the faces of some nearby students was any indication, they were too.

Yet …

The redhead glanced down at her right palm.

It sounded so inspiring too.

Her hand clenched into a fist. It was like the examiner was looking down upon them, like they were nothing but overconfident nobodies who weren't going to mean anything. Even though she'd won against a full-fledged Grimm by herself in the test before the time ran out.

She was pumped. If Doctor Niloufar didn't think she was good enough, then she'd show her.

"You look like you're thinking hard, comrade," said Linna from next to her.

A grin slowly found its way onto Aeronwy's face.

"Yeah," she said. "Yeah I am."

She punched her fists together.

"Just thinking about how fun initiation's gonna be."

 _I'll show you my resolve there, teach._

Aeronwy wasn't going to be some half-baked Huntress.


End file.
